Being the amazing, true-to-life adventures and (very likely) misadventures of a writer who seeks to take his education, activism and seemingly boundless energy to North Minneapolis, (NoMi) to help with a process of turning a rapidly revitalizing neighborhood into something approaching Urban Utopia. I am here to be near my child. From 02/08 to 06/15 this blog pushed free speech to the envelope, so others could take heart and speak unafraid. Email me at hoffjohnw@gmail.com

Who has better coverage? I say the entity with PICTURES has better coverage. Nothing Up My Blogger Sleeves! It is, of course, no great trick to have the name and likeness of a homicide victim before television stations and the major daily papers. We live in a world where 15-year-olds on Facebook are publishing hard hitting murder coverage while mainstream media sits on their hands and awaits a "press release" to find out the name of the victim. What, I wonder, does a "press release" do? What does it release? Does it actually release news or does it release THE PRESS, who had the news all along but for some reason aren't willing to use Facebook as a source? Is a "press release" like the old joke about...

Anthony Lovell Magnan, whose death was reported on by JNS blog guest author Jordan North, click here for that story, was an outstanding example of a the Biblical principle "He who lives by the sword, by that same sword, he shall die." Normally, I'd be writing a headline about the "latest shooting victim" and his routine, much-to-be-expected criminal record, but the long predicted "long hot summer" of 2014 has kicked off exactly as North Minneapolis residents predicted repeatedly and emphatically while pleading for... ...more police. Dead before I can write about Magnan is one Steve Martin, whose identity was first reported on JNS blog by--once again--guest author Jordan North, click here. Magnan, born in 1990 (I have a pair of Army sweatpants that will outlive him!) was convicted of his first crime in 2008 when he would have been, gee, 18 years old, right? Though no juvenile record is to be found online, it's hard to believe...

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

There is some indication that Steve Martin, also known as Junebug, was trying to break up a fight. This was reported by people on the scene, where this photo was taken. He was shot on the 33rd and Penn and died shortly after at North Memorial Hospital.

The local media reported that officers were on their way to a fight and received another call that shots were fired. When the police arrived, Steve Junebug Martin, was already...

Police have released little information about the life threatening condition of this weekend's shooting victim, in the Camden area of Minneapolis. It was reported that no suspects have been arrested and he was taken to North memorial Hospital. The web is on fire with speculation, accusations and threats on what happened to Skooby. We shall leave it at that.

Facebook photo used under First Amendment Fair Comment and Criticism

I find it interesting that most of those connected on Facebook have a profile photo of the late Nehemiah Steverson or this weekend's alleged victim, Skooby. The friends lists are also VERY similar, to a LIST provided sometime ago by a former Minneapolis Council member.

I found the facebook of young Anthony Magnan, just 24 years old. I also found a rather lengthy criminal record. That's not a story that needs to be told. We've heard this story so many times. My concern is how do we stop this story and begin a new book?

Again I say, the natives are restless.(GASP) This time, I'm referring to the almost middle class, filled with fear people of Nomi. The Facebook postings of the day, tracking every bullet, shooting and robbery on every corner of the city. The rantings of getting gun permits and classes as they are faced with this ''terrorism and war zone.'' I'm not even sure anyone is shooting at them. I'm not even sure I've heard that they've scraped a knee, in all the years I've lived here.

We must do whatever we can, to try and turn things around. We don't need to add insanity to the insane events around us. I woke up to a scripture, sent to me by a friend named Peter, who is more than likely heading to a REAL war zone...

Psalms 28:3 KJV'' Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbors, but mischief is in their hearts. ''

In times like this everyone speaks of God. He requires you tell the TRUTH. Who murdered Anthony Lovell Magnan, on Father's day 6/15/2014?

Monday, June 9, 2014

I don't even have time to look for a suitable stock photo but GOD BLESS

AMERICA is always in style, blog post by John Hoff

There are times this blogger gets busy and there are times I get CRAZY busy. So when I know I can't churn out a lot of content, I have to make something count. And I know for a fact elected leaders read this blog because they tell me so all the time and approach me with Godfather voices, "Johnny...I need you to do me a favor."

Saturday, June 7, 2014

Composite photo, either created by or merely shared by Nehemiah Steverson on hisFacebook page, entitled "RIP Skitz smoking," posted as part of First Amendmentcomment and criticism in course of a hot community discussion about degree ofgang involvement by Nehemiah Steverson, blog post by John HoffShortly after the Star Tribune blog published an article citing a police source saying the murder of Nehemiah Steverson was NOT gang related, click here, a commenter went to my blog and wrote words to the effect...

Image from the Facebook of shooting victim Nehemiah Steverson, being a Facebookmeme no copyright is assumed but even so this is used under First Amendment FairComment and Criticism, blog post by John Hoff

What We Do, And What Some Loyal Readers Have To SayFamily of victim believes shooter poses risk to public, click here for the highly-relevant KMSP story. The police want information. So does this blog. To the commenters who come to this blog and ask daft rhetorical questions about the purpose and impact of airing specific ugly and un-whitewashed, un-sugarcoated facts in the wake of yet another murder of a child in North Minneapolis, I offer you the words of blog commenters who actually get it, as follows...

Friday, June 6, 2014

Facebook photo used under First Amendment Fair Comment and Criticism inmidst of discussion about degree of "gang involvement" by Nehemiah Steverson,blog post by John Hoff

What We DoThis blog doesn't sugarcoat bloody, ugly facts. This blog doesn't nominate each semi-random victim who dies in the street of acute gunfire for automatic sainthood and then instinctively begin a public process of ignoring and whitewashing key facts while hyping up others. Why does the mainstream media do this? Are they afraid of...

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Photo from a Stanek election website, used under First Amendment FairComment and Criticism, blog post by John Hoff

You read it FIRST on Johnny Northside! A source within MPD who has been reasonably reliable in the past, especially as far as reporting what is "rumored within the department," tells me in a breathless Facebook whisper that MPD Chief Deputy Eddie Frizzell plans to file against Hennepin County Sheriff Stanek in the next election. If Frizzell wins...

One of the most chatty individuals on social media is a female who goes by the Facebook moniker "HC Cashout" and appears on the list of Severson's many Facebook friends. She is apparently a former girlfriend of some sort. Incredibly, after her Facebook name she has this notation in parenthesis:

ChicagoSlutbucket

Though many of her postings might be described as "routine sadness, grief and anger" in the wake of yet another Northside murder of a young person a lot of what she writes is quite revealing of the lifestyle choices Steverson was making and the kind of crowd he was hanging out with...

Facebook photo used under First Amendment Fair Comment and Criticism, blogpost by John HoffWhat We Do Guest author Jordan North has obtained, before any other media, the name of yesterday's 17-year-old shooting victim who died today. The shooting is tragic and Jordan North's sympathetic article about the young victim is certainly within the range of free expression of a JNS guest author. But customarily, this blog digs up the ugly facts about Northside shooting victims who--when the usual pattern holds true--are not much different than their alleged shooters except for one key controlling factor...

Throughout the night and early morning, shots rang out all over North Minneapolis. I heard at least ten this morning. Sadly I have become so use to them, I hardly notice. Several people were actually shot last night. One, still a child, is gone...Allegedly Nehemiah was shot in the stomach and died this afternoon at HCMC.It seems this young man was near and dear to MANY in Minneapolis, including several organizations...